A NASCAR veteran and road-racing legend wants to turn the shores of Lake Elsinore into a private playground for wealthy car collectors, complete with a 3.2-mile racetrack, a rooftop helipad, and garage condos that can swallow up to eight cars apiece. The project, called Elsinore Ring, remains in the planning stage.
Boris Said, the developer behind the concept, is a NASCAR veteran and road-racing legend, according to the New York Post. Said achieved historic success in 2005 by becoming the first American driver to win the 24 Hours of Nürburgring overall, the endurance race. The project has been described as a Nürburgring-inspired homage, per a Wikipedia entry on Said’s career. He also co-owns nearby BMW of Murrieta alongside NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick, according to the Elsinore Ring team page.
Said has described his motivation in personal terms, saying his years driving the world’s best racetracks inspired a dream to build a private motorsport country club in Southern California. Of the local reception, Said said simply, “The city loves us.” Lake Elsinore’s economic development director, Gina Gonzalez, has called the city the “action sports capital of the world,” a branding push the proposed resort would lean into.
What the Circuit and Clubhouse Would Include
The plans call for a 3.2-mile circuit with 22 turns, offering technical corners, sweeping sections, and passing opportunities, and the track would include three different configurations. The layout may also allow separate portions of the track to operate at the same time, with drivers divided into sessions based on experience and vehicle type. Tilke Engineers and Architects is designing the track, which is planned to meet FIA Grade 2 standards, a certification that per RacingCircuits.info allows a track to host nearly every major international motorsport category — including IndyCar, GT3, prototype sports cars, and endurance series — with only Formula 1 requiring the higher Grade 1 rating…